ELITE Digital Crusader Jo Ann Saitta of Omnicom Health Group

Jo Ann Saitta

SVP, Chief Digital Officer

Omnicom Health Group

Defining Digital Leadership in Healthcare

“The digital landscape is one that changes at a rapid pace and involves a myriad of players across a variety of disciplines,” says Matt Goff, Associate Partner, Director of Digital Marketing, AgencyRx LLC. “Jo Ann Saitta has functioned as a champion of technology innovation by bringing together leaders from across the industry to solve some of the largest problems facing biotech and pharmaceutical organizations.”

Jo Ann has been helping to transform companies and industries through digital for the past 20 years, so pharma is just her latest endeavor. At Omnicom Health Group (formerly The CDM Group), she led the development of a new technology division called iVenturesHealth. Jo Ann and her team are dedicated to the advancement and expansion of marketing software and data intelligence solutions to improve communications for the healthcare and life science industries. The division’s offerings include DriiverSeat (an iPad co-navigation tool), InsideMD (which provides real-time physician insights), essi (a tool for better media management), and VIA (the agency’s best-in-class electronic workflow system).

Earlier this year, Sync Magazine recognized Jo Ann for her role as a Chief Digital Officer transforming business. Prior to joining Omnicom Health Group, the NJ Technology Council recognized Jo Ann as 2013 CIO of the Year for enabling business transformation through technology. Further proving that she is transforming the perception of what it means to be a CIO or CDO. Her career in digital began when she joined IBM out of college—becoming part of the IT revolution. But nowadays, she feels IT is only a small part of the role that CIOs or CDOs must play in their companies.

“I still love solving problems with technology, but I can also say that if you don’t know the business side, you’re only going to get so far and have limited impact,” she told Sync Magazine. “You need communication skills, leadership and team building skills, and technical skills. You should have the ability to be a change agent without being a bulldozer. Influencing others is important, and so are critical thinking skills and a keen understanding of data.”

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